The plants on the allotment have enjoyed the rain

The rain over the past week has helped plant growth and we didn’t get the hose out for a change. Everything is growing well including the weeds and all the self-sown flowers round the plot make it a lovely sight.

First of the early potatoes

Today (Thursday)  the purple sprouting broccoli for spring picking was sown, and succession rows of peas, carrots, kohl rabi and turnips. We dug up the first of the early potatoes, picked the first of the broad beans and shared a picking of strawberries with the farmhouse cafe. The soft fruit is beginning to ripen and it was netted against the birds.

Lord Derby ready to be thinned

The walk-round at the start of our stint keeps us aware of how everything is growing and what is needing done. Today it was clear that apple thinning needs to start. There has been excellent pollination on the cooking apples but too many in one bunch to grow properly and they need thinned down to one fruit. The June drop has helped reduce the numbers but it is better to have one properly grown fruit than several smaller ones.

Spot the hole in the fleece!

Another job that needed to be done was to patch the hole in the fleece round the sweetcorn. The plant in front of the hole is obviously much smaller than its neighbours after being exposed to the north winds funnelling through the hole.

Jobs for the week
Cut the comfrey and compost it
Net the soft fruit in the old raised bed
Weeding